Acceptance
by Murasaki Rose
Summary: Yami no Bakura x Ryou Bakura, shonen-ai. After returning home from Duelist Kingdom, Ryou gets a few shocking surprises, all courtesy the spirit of the ring.


Author: Murasaki Rose  
email: see profile  
Archive?: Go for it! Just let me know where so I can link ya! 

Title: Acceptance  
Spoilers: Duelist Kingdom  
Warnings: Shonen-ai, male/male pairing  
Pairings: Yami no Bakura x Ryou Bakura  
AN: "text" speech, 'text' thought, --text-- telepathy, /text/ hikari to yami mindlink, ::text:: yami to hikari mindlink

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Acceptance

Ryou stared in fascinated horror at the golden object in his hands. It was . . . it was . .

"NOOOO!!!!!" the silver haired teen shrieked in horrified denial, tossing the orb across his room. The ancient sphere colliding with the wall hard enough to leave a dent before rolling back towards him. In his panicked state, Ryou began to hyper-ventilate, not sure if he'd faint or throw-up. Watching as the orb rolled lazily in his direction, the teen wondered if he'd ever wake from this nightmare. With a soft "thmp" noise the orb's journey had ended at his feet, all-seeing eye staring straight up at him.

Too much.

Ryou bolted for the bathroom.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Turning off the tap, Ryou drew a shaking hand across his forehead as he stared at his paler than normal expression. '_Kami, that- that was Pegasus' Sennen eye! B-but I didn't take it! I was with the others the whole time! How did it get in my bag?_' Chocolate brown eyes widened in disbelief. There was only one person who could have done it . . .

::Me, yadonushi?(1):: Yami no Bakura supplied, chuckling softly.

"Iie!! It can't be! Yugi's spirit banished you to the Shadow Realm!" Ryou shouted in denial even as his reflection shifted to that of the spirit of the Ring.

The dark one smiled triumphantly at his other half, ::It didn't work the first time he tried. What made you believe it would work this time, hikari?::

Blinking in surprise, the gentle teen ventured a question, "Wh-what did you call me?"

Grinning a tad maniacally, Yami no Bakura stepped forward, out of the mirror and through the sink to stand before the teen. ::I have a surprise for you.::

Startled by the other's non-sequiter, the teen followed the dark spirit, recoiling only slightly when the other stopped by his backpack.

"Wh-what is it?" Ryou asked, hesitantly reaching for his bag.

::You'll see.:: his dark replied, smiling at the teen with his best non-threatening smile.

Now Ryou was worried. What was the spirit so happy about? Pushing away all thoughts of the Ring spirit's strangely absent wrath, Ryou grabbed his bag and up-ended it, emptying it of its remaining contents. '_Okay, there's my toothbrush, socks, pair of Monster World dolls_(2)_, pocket knife-_' "Monster World dolls?!!"

::Do you like your surprise, yadonushi?::

"NO!!! They're people! You can't just steal people's souls like that!!"

Yami no Bakura scowled, and Ryou could have sworn the dark spirit was trying not to pout. ::They tried to kill you.::

"Nani?"

Drifting forward until they were mere inches apart, the yami ran his hand through Ryou's bangs. ::I will allow NO ONE to cause you harm.::

"Naze?" the doe-eyed teen managed to croak out, his mind and voice failing him with this new information and the spirit's strange behavior.

::You are MY hikari. No other's.::

'I-I'm his light? What does that mean?'

::I am YOUR yami. We are light and dark. Two halves of one soul.::

'_One soul?!_' Falling to the ground, Ryou moaned in denial. If that was true then it meant that the dark one would always be with him.

::Precisely, little hikari.::

/Stop reading my mind!/

::But it makes things so much easier.::

/Yamero! Leave me alone!/

::Impossible yadonushi. You'll never be alone.::

/Nooo . . ./ the silver-haired teen moaned, not realizing he'd been speaking through their link for some time.

Yami no Bakura said nothing, merely watching his light half sink to the floor and curl into a ball. Sighing resignedly, the dark spirit returned to his soul room, muttering under his breath about oversensitive hikaris. Once there he headed out of his room and into Ryou's, determined to make the boy face the truth.

Inside the bright room, the yami paused to take in the beauty of his other's soul. The walls glowed with a soft white light, childhood toys were scattered across the room, and pictures of his family and friends were displayed all around.

But this wasn't why he was there. In the center of the room was his hikari, curled up exactly like his physical form, shoulders shaking from his muffled sobs. Sighing again, the yami stalked over to the teen, crouched down by his side, and gathered Ryou into his arms.

"No . ." Ryou struggle weakly in his other's arms but to no avail. After 3,000 years of separation and two banishings, the dark spirit had no intentions of letting his hikari go.

"Hush." Yami no Bakura's voice was soft, but his tone brooked no argument. Settling his light more comfortably against his chest, the yami nuzzled Ryou's hair, inhaling the sweet scent of his lighter half.

Stunned momentarily, Ryou scarcely dared to breathe, he didn't understand why the spirit of the ring was doing this. Surely he was furious over Ryou's betrayals. Why was he comforting him?

Daring a look up at the spirit, the teen was shocked by the dark one's expression. A content smile on his face, the yami's eyes were surprisingly warm and swirling with too many emotions for him to decipher.

Too confused to give it anymore thought, Ryou relaxed into the other's embrace. It felt so right. Why didn't that bother him?

Pushing aside his questions, the doe-eyed teen curled his arms around the spirit's neck and snuggled closer. He'd worry later. Everything would be fine now that he was with his yami.

As he drifted off to sleep, a single, subconscious thought slipped through their link. /Missed you, yami./

::And I you, hikari.::

12/14/04

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1 - landlord : What Yami no Bakura calls Ryou in the manga and the Japanese anime.

2 - For those of you who haven't read the manga, that's Ryou's favorite game. It's a tabletop RPG. Very cool. Yami no Bakura had been sealing Ryou's friends into figures and did the same with Yugi-tachi. With Ryou's help, Yami no Yugi managed to win the game and set them free.

3 - stop (it)

Afterword: Okay, I know Ryou is called Bakura, but I'm trying to preserve my sanity and yours. As far as I know, Ryou doesn't actually refer to his yami by a name. Yami no Bakura meanwhile, does call Ryou "yadonushi".

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Disclaimer: Here we go. Yu-Gi-Oh and all it's characters are the property of Kazuki Takahashi, Shueisha, Konami, Toei, and unfortunately, 4 Kids Entertainment. I'm not making any money off of this, I'm just having fun. Suing me would be largely pointless as I am just a poor college student that works for the school system.


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